19,860 Shares in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) Bought by Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd.

Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 19,860 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,794,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Walmart by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 422,736,888 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $38,194,278,000 after acquiring an additional 2,050,683 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Walmart by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 90,635,238 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,167,186,000 after purchasing an additional 3,017,829 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Walmart in the fourth quarter valued at $5,737,355,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Walmart by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 48,793,045 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,408,452,000 after purchasing an additional 1,133,201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Walmart by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 43,641,936 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,943,049,000 after purchasing an additional 3,550,037 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, EVP Christopher James Nicholas sold 17,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.42, for a total value of $1,661,792.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 348,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,891,867.94. This represents a 4.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel J. Bartlett sold 1,600 shares of Walmart stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.99, for a total transaction of $166,384.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 423,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,049,852.03. This represents a 0.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 133,857 shares of company stock worth $12,444,743. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Walmart Stock Performance

Shares of Walmart stock opened at $96.69 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $90.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $92.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $773.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.12, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.70. Walmart Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $59.47 and a fifty-two week high of $105.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. Walmart had a return on equity of 21.87% and a net margin of 2.85%. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $178.83 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. Walmart’s payout ratio is 39.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Friday, February 28th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Walmart from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Walmart in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Mizuho started coverage on Walmart in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $105.00 price target on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.94.

Walmart Profile

Walmart Inc engages in the operation of retail, wholesale, other units, and eCommerce worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Walmart U.S., Walmart International, and Sam's Club. It operates supercenters, supermarkets, hypermarkets, warehouse clubs, cash and carry stores, and discount stores under Walmart and Walmart Neighborhood Market brands; membership-only warehouse clubs; ecommerce websites, such as walmart.com.mx, walmart.ca, flipkart.com, PhonePe and other sites; and mobile commerce applications.